<Begin Segment 11>

MN: Now what were some of the first things you did when you arrived at your mother's place?

KM: I can't remember.

MN: Did you do ohakamairi?

KM: Oh, definitely. In fact, every trip I made to Japan, after that was, the first thing I did was, you have to do is go ohakamairi. I think it's SOP for anybody that visits the relatives in Japan.

MN: What's SOP?

KM: Standard Office Procedure.

MN: Now when you went to go visit your relatives, how much Japanese did you speak?

KM: Oh, I could converse with them because I was using Japanese predominately in the home. So I could communicate with my mother, so I didn't have any problems communicating with the relatives in Japanese.

MN: How about the other kids who were there? Did they tease you?

KM: Huh?

MN: The kids who were there.

KM: Oh, yeah. They used to call me "white man," gaijin. And we used to throw rocks at each other... they were, the kids in Japan really treated me not too good. They were very mean.

MN: Did you ever get into a full-fledged fight?

KM: No, not no fights. I remember when I was in Japan, when my mother put us in... put me, anyway, into Japanese school there to attend classes, and so I used to have to mix in with the other students of my age, but they were way beyond me. Because I guess the language was a barrier because I wasn't that proficient in Japanese language. But anyway, in Japan, the students GI the floors of the school all the time. So every Saturday, we used to GI [inaudible] for the floors of the school, so I used to have a big audience watching me scrub the dang floor in the school. It was curiosity, and I would be lowering myself, I guess, to the menial work of scrubbing floors.

MN: So when you're scrubbing these floors, you mean all these kids are watching you?

KM: Yeah, there was a bunch of kids watching me, right.

MN: Because you were from America?

KM: That's right, that's right.

MN: How did the teachers treat you?

KM: Oh, teachers, I can't recall any animosity or anything like that, but the teachers, they treated me just as any other student, I think. I can't remember any derogatory remarks that they made to me, that made me feel uncomfortable.

MN: Now were you the only Nisei at this school?

KM: Oh, yes. I think so. 'Cause I was a curious object. Being a gaijin and having a Japanese face, speaking some sort of semi-broken Japanese. [Laughs]

MN: And I guess because Nagano did not have a lot of immigration to the U.S., so there wasn't a lot of Niseis going over there.

KM: Oh, no, that's right.

MN: Did you have to wear a school uniform?

KM: No.

MN: Do you remember what the scheduling was at school when you got to school? What were some of the first things you had to do?

KM: What's this now?

MN: When you got to the Japanese school, what did you do? Did you have to gather...

KM: I can't remember, 'cause those details, yeah, right.

MN: The things like bowing towards the east, do you remember any of those things?

KM: We might have had to, yeah. But specifically, I can't remember.

MN: What did you do after school?

KM: Did I play? I played, but I don't know what I played with. I used to get in sort of a hassle with my cousins. They're much older than I. I remember one time I got in a fight with my cousin, and I don't know how I got some of this clothes or something like that, I threw it on the creek in front of the house. So I threw the darn, his clothes down there. So he had to run down there and try to chase that clothes.

MN: What other memories do you have of your time in Japan?

KM: The economy?

MN: No, what other memories do you have?

KM: Oh, memories? Not too much. Especially when you're only nine, it's pretty hard to remember. Unless it stands out in your mind, I can't remember, recall anything that's really outstanding that I can remember.

<End Segment 11> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.